Recycling Program Information

Manatee County offers single-stream recycling. You do not need to sort your materials. What is single-stream recycling? Single stream recycling refers to the "all-in-one" collection of all clean recyclable paper and mixed containers together in the recycle cart, eliminating the need for sorting. It's easy and convenient. Once collected, all materials are separated for re-use at a materials recycling facility.

How to place your recycling cart

We provide a recycling cart to each residence. Request a new recycling cart.

  • Fill it with recyclable items (no yard trimmings or trash)
  • Place the cart with the arrow facing the street
  • Leave 3 feet of space on all sides of the cart 

What's Recyclable?

COMPOST BINS

Compost Bins are now available while supplies last at the UF/IFAS Manatee County Extension Office in Palmetto for $60.

These Earth Machine bins normally retail for $100. They come with a handy How-to Compost instruction guide to take the guesswork out of learning to compost your veggie and yard scraps at home.

Please call ahead to make an appointment to purchase a compost bin. Susan Griffith: (941) 722-4524 Ext. 1825 

Cash or check only. No credit cards. 

Attend a Compost class

Closer to the date you will be able to sign up on the Extension website.

​Clothing Recycling

Manatee County would like to remind you that clothing, shoes, accessories and linens are not accepted in the blue residential recycling carts. You can bring these items to the Lena Road Landfill for recycling, MONDAY through SATURDAY from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Landfill is located at 3333 Lena Road in Bradenton. The following items are allowed: Clean Clothing, Shoes Accessories, and Clean Linens.

Where to Drop Off Recycling

Recycling drop-off locations are for residential use only.

If your condo complex, RV park or other multi-family residence does not offer recycling service, or if your recyclables are too large for your recycle cart, you may drop recyclable items off at the following locations:

RECYCLING SITES (Click on location for a map):

These locations are for recycling materials only. No other materials will be accepted. All cardboard must be clean, broken down or flattened to be recycled.

RECYCLING CENTER:

Manatee County provides a recycling drop-off center for ALL recyclable materials at the Manatee County Landfill, 3333 Lena Road in Bradenton, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m..

All materials that are accepted in the curbside recycling program can be brought to Manatee County’s Landfill for recycling free of charge.

 

 

Recyclable Materials

Many glass, cardboard, paper and plastic items can be recycled. Plastic bags and styrofoam cannot be recycled by Manatee County and should not be placed in your cart.

The following materials are recyclable in Manatee County (all food and beverage containers should be rinsed):

  • Newspaper, junk mail, shopping ads, windowed envelopes, magazines and books (paperback)
  • Office and computer paper (all colors)
  • Phonebooks, greeting cards, brown paper bags
  • Fiberboard (cereal, crackers, frozen food and soda boxes)
  • Cardboard (must be broken down and placed in your recycle cart)
  • Glass bottles and jars (all colors)
  • Aluminum and steel cans (soup and vegetable)
  • Plastic bottles and containers
  • Milk and juice cartons

Non-Recyclable Materials

Please do not place any of the following items in your recycling cart. Your recycling may not be collected if it contains any of these items.

Unacceptable items:

  • Garbage
  • Yard waste
  • Plastic bags
  • Styrofoam
  • Sandwich bags / shrink wrap
  • Clothing hangers
  • Batteries
  • Water hoses
  • Electronics
  • Large plastic items such as pools, coolers or toys
  • Household Hazardous Waste and E-Scrap